It's been three years and Ralph knew it was finally time to take the next step with Vanellope. The question was: how to ask her what he wanted to ask? There was a lot to do before it happened. He had to find the right place, make sure he had the necessary things, and making a romantic dinner beforehand would probably help set the mood.

A panicked thought struck him: could he do this right? He was so worried he was going to mess up and offend Vanellope.

When he confided in Felix the handyman clapped him on the shoulder and laughed boisterously, "If you can't do it, brother, NO ONE can! I was worried too when I asked Tammy and we all know how that turned out." He shooed the villain out with a final, "I have complete faith in you, Ralph. Go get 'er."

Well, that was a load off his mind. His next stop was Hero's Duty to talk to Calhoun.

"Go somewhere that's special to the both of you," was her advice when he asked her about a location. "Like where? I kinda don't want to do this in my game and her game has lots of memories for us… I don't wanna ruin that." She smiled and gently slapped his cheek. "This will only make those memories better, Junkpile," she said. "How 'bout Candy Cane Forest? It's where you two met." He nodded enthusiastically. "There's an idea! Hey, can I borrow your cruiser? I'd like to find a spot that has a little more privacy."

"No, but you can take yours. Smith still has the extra one he made."

Now that that was out of the way, the wrecker needed to find some supplies. This whole effort would be wasted if he didn't even have the one item he needed most! Taffyta would be a good person to ask for help but she and Vanellope talk about everything and he wanted to keep this a secret. He decided to ask Wynchell and Duncan. They wholeheartedly agreed and immediately set out to find anything remotely suitable.

Ralph breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn't so hard! Until he realized the hard part was yet to come: how to carry out his plan without Vanellope finding out. Well, maybe enlisting Taffyta wouldn't be so bad, he just would have to make sure he didn't tell her what's up. She looked at him suspiciously when he asked her to keep the president busy but agreed.

When the doughnut cops returned they had enough materials to make extras just in case something happened to the first one which Ralph was very grateful for. This meant that he could figure out how to put it together and how to make it the right size.

When Sunday came around he was ready to put his plan in action. Ralph snuck into Sugar Rush early in the morning to make sure he would have enough time. He found a plot of land that wasn't riddled with taffy swamps that would work splendidly and started to clear the area.


"That was so much fun! Who knew we could run fast enough to actually make it around the loop!" Vanellope squealed. She and Taffyta had just come out of Sonic's game and now they were on the prowl for some lunch. Taffyta plopped down on a bench, utterly exhausted. "Yeah," she gasped, "who knew?"

"You alright there, Tootsie-Pop?"

"Fine. I just have to remember how to breathe."

Just then, Candlehead walked up. "Taffyta! Vanellope! What's up?" she said as she waved. The vanilla racer waved back and patted a spot next to her on the bench. "Not much. Just breathing and trying to find a place for lunch. You wanna join us?"

"I'd love to!" the birthday racer squealed.

The three of them ended up in Burger Time and shared one of the humongous burgers. "So what are we gonna do now?" Vanellope asked through a mouthful of food. "You get to pick next, Taff." The strawberry racer put a finger up to her mouth as if to ponder but she already had a destination in mind. "Well, there's a shop I'd like to check out in one of the levels of a Rampage game. Is that okay?"

"Hey, fair is fair. I picked the last place so shopping it is! You have any plans, Wax Drip, or do you wanna come with us?"

"I'd like to come, if that's okay with you two."

They walked to the port and hopped onto the tram. Taffyta and Candlehead leaned in together and whispered, "She has no idea, right?"

"Right. Ralph said to get her dolled up and I could use a new dress anyway." The two girls grinned impishly and snickered, "This is going to be fun!"


"No. Just- No!" Vanellope crossed her arms and glared at the frou-frou thing her friends wanted her to wear. "C'mon," they wheedled, "You'll look really pretty!"

"I don't care! NO!"

The two conspirators sighed and put the dress back on a hanger. "You're right," Taffyta said over her shoulder, "it was a stupid idea. That wouldn't fit you as a grown-up anyway." She disappeared around the corner and helped Candlehead find a dress to try on. "Ooooh!" They both squealed suddenly. "Vanellope, c'mere! Be big so we can get this one down." She sighed but complied.

When she came to where they were she saw which one they wanted and raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Are you guys sure? That one won't fit you." Candlehead scuffed the floor with a toe, and mumbled, "We wanted you to try it on. It looks like chocolate and you would look so pretty in it and I bet Ralph would like it too." Taffyta glared at her for saying too much, but the damage was done. The vanilla racer slapped a hand to her forehead and laughed, "So THAT'S what this is about! Well, Ralph actually isn't too fond of chocolate. He said it looks too much like mud."

She started riffling through the other dresses. "Besides, he's not the one wearing the stupid dress, now is he?" She pulled out a mint green and white cocktail dress that buttoned up to the neck, had puffy sleeves, and came to just below her knees. "If I gotta wear something dressy this is more 'me', dontcha think?" The girls nodded and pushed her to the dressing room. "Try that on and we'll find some matching shoes!"

Vanellope pursed her lips as she weighed her options. "C'mon, Vanellope," she finally sighed, "you did promise them you would try one on. Might as well make it this one." Just as she got the clothing on a box was pushed under the door. "This was all we could find that you would like," one of the girls said. A package of black and white striped tights also made its way under the door. The woman opened the box and shrieked in delight, "Perfect!" Inside was a pair of pink, knee-high Chuck Taylor styled sneakers. She put on the tights, laced up the shoes, and came out to show off.

"Alright, you two, I'm sold. For whatever devious plan Ralph has you helping him with I'll wear a dress." Candlehead and Taffyta high-fived and circled their leader, smiling.

An hour later, after finding something for the other two, the three girls paid for their clothes and left. "Uh, Vanellope? You might have an easier time seeing over those boxes if you were bigger."

"True!" she panted, "But then I would also look like your guys' mom or something."

The birthday and taffy racers grinned mischievously and turned back.

"Uh, where're you guys goin'?"

"Back to the store to change," they said together. "You might want to, too." Vanellope sighed in defeat and went back to change. It would be easier to wear her new things and carry her old ones. She had learned that her two skins were independent of each other so she could wear her usual outfit as a child and switch to her adult form in a completely different outfit. If she really wanted to, she could do just that: wear the dress as an adult and switch to her less bulky child clothes, but she kind of want to show off, especially for Ralph.

They came out into GCS and saw the time. "Wow," Candle yawned, "we should probably get back. I'm getting tired." The other two nodded and they went home, heads bobbing as they fell asleep on the train. The two children were pressed up against the woman's sides and Vanellope had her arms around them. A knock woke them and they saw that it was Ralph, come to meet them at the station. "Rise an' shine, sleepyheads. You don't wanna be out here all night, do ya?"

They disembarked and Vanellope did a double take. "What's with the monkey suit, Stinkbrain?" He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I wanted to go somewhere nice with you," he admitted, "but I think that might have to wait for another day." He picked up the girls (who immediately fell back asleep) and started walking down the bridge. "C'mon," he said quietly. "Let's get these two home and then I'll take you back to the castle." Vanellope was too tired to object so she jogged to catch up. Maybe it was because she was too far away or too sleepy, but the thought she heard him mutter "Good work, you two" under his breath.

Ralph was too big to fit in the tiny houses of the village where the racers lived so Vanellope ducked under the stoop and tucked each girl in her bed. After the last child was taken care of, the president shut the door quietly behind her, yawned, and took the villain's proffered arm as they walked back to the palace. Or, at least they walked to the entrance of the village and Ralph pulled out his cruiser. "When you guys didn't come back when I thought you would I figured we'd end up here." He threw it down, scooped her up to hold her bridal style, and took off.

Vanellope laid her head against Ralph's chest and listened to his heartbeat, frowning when she realized that they weren't going to the palace. "Did you get lost, Fun Dip? The castle is that way!" Ralph shrugged and tried to keep his face straight. "I know. There's just something I need to show you, first." They slowly descended, eventually stopping in the air, and he put his beloved down carefully in front of him.

"V-Vanellope, there's something I've been meaning t-to ask you."

She had an idea where this was going so waited with bated breath for him to finish.

"Can you look down for me?" She did and almost fell off the board. There, right below them, Ralph had cleared the ground so it was flat and had laid out enough peppermint trees to spell out 'MARRY ME VVS'. Vanellope gaped at him, completely stunned. The Bad Guy smiled a small smile and reached into his tux coat. He pulled out a small, hinged box. "Whadaya say, Boogerface?" he said as he opened it, "Will you marry me?" In the box was a candy ring made from a thin piece of licorice and a sugar crystal gemstone. The racer was silent and still.

Ralph worriedly waved a hand in front of her face. "You in there Vanellope?" She shook her head, blinked as she came out of her shock, and closed the box gently.

"Land," she commanded.

"Huh?"

"Land, Numbskull! I'm telling you to take us down!"

This didn't bode well but he obeyed. The giant's insides froze as he kept thinking to himself, 'She's gonna say no. This is it: she doesn't want me anymore,' among other horrible thoughts. They alighted on the ground and Vanellope jumped off to sit on a stump. "Let's try that again, Chumbo," she smirked, "And do it right this time!"

Ralph blinked and realized what she said. Unable to stop beaming, he bent down on one knee and opened the ring box again. "Vanellope Von Schweetz," he said solemnly, "Will you do me the honor of becoming my bride?" She beamed back and held out a hand. Ralph pressed his lips together and sheepishly held out the box. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart," he mumbled. "It's too small for me to grab. It was all I could do to put it together!" She calmly pulled the ring out, put it on her middle finger, and held up her left hand to inspect it. "I know it's not very pretty, I don't make things very well, bu-"

"I love it," she croaked.

"Y-you do?"

"IloveitIloveitIloveitIloveit!" she shrieked happily, tackling him and plastering his face with kisses. "I love it! I will marry you, Ralph! I will!" She kissed him passionately on the lips and once he got over his surprise he kissed her back.

When they broke apart for air the man carefully shifted so they were lying on their sides so they could gaze into each other's eyes. "I love you, Fartfeathers," Ralph whispered. "I love you too, Stinkbrain," Vanellope whispered back. They leaned in for another kiss when the roar of an engine startled them.

Felix and Calhoun knew Ralph was going to propose today and had come to congratulate the couple.